Intel announces new Core processors for ultrathin laptops

Souped-up MacBook Air soon

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If you have been toying with the idea of investing in an ultrathin MacBook Air, but have so far not succumbed to the temptation, then the news that Intel is set to launch a new line of processors for ultra-skinny laptops may well be of interest.

Intel has announced its new line of Ultra-Low Voltage Core processors, lower-voltage versions of its current Core i3, i5 and i7 processors currently used in MacBooks and HP's range of high-end Envy laptops.

Intel's new ULV Core chips should improve battery life by 15 per cent and give a 15 per cent improvement in power efficiency, as well as allowing for a 30 per cent reduction in thickness. So we may even see newer ranges of super-thin laptops even thinner than the current batch on the market.

Intel also says that the new processors' Turbo Boost Technology and Hyper-Threading Technology means no drop in performance in comparison with its current Core processors.

The new chips also include HD video decoding, meaning (we hope) no more glitchy video viewing on your netbooks or your ultraslim laptops in the future.

Intel promises the first batch of laptops using its new ULV Core CPUs will be available next month. So we will be sure to be watching the announcements from Intel's partners – including Acer, Asus, Lenovo, and MSI – at Computex in Taipei in early June.